VPN Uncovered: The Truth About the $10 Billion VPN Industry

8 min read
vpn scams privacy security
Table of Contents

Full Disclosure: I make affiliate commissions from some VPNs:

Other VPNs pay WAY more but I reject them:

  • ExpressVPN: ~$95/sale (I don’t recommend)
  • CyberGhost: $135/sale (I don’t recommend)
  • Surfshark, PIA, IPVanish and all the others (I don’t recommend)

My ranking:

  1. Mullvad ($0 commission) - Most private, accepts cash, open source
  2. Proton VPN (~$25 commission) - Free tier available, Swiss laws, legitimate
  3. NordVPN (~$60 commission) - has a shady past but has made amends and is good for streaming Netflix.

I rank Mullvad #1 despite making $0. That should tell you something about my priorities.

Integrity level: 6/10 - I could make 4x more lying to you, but I rank by actual privacy instead of payout.

Now, here’s what’s wrong with the VPN industry:

The VPN Industry Problem

The VPN industry generates $10 billion annually selling you protection from threats that don’t exist, using companies that used to distribute malware, with “privacy” that gets handed to the FBI on request.

Here’s what the $95-per-sale affiliate commission reviewers won’t tell you:

  • 95% of VPN marketing is lies designed to exploit your privacy paranoia
  • The biggest VPNs are owned by data mining companies that used to distribute malware
  • “No-logs” policies are worthless - some VPNs still hand over data when asked
  • “Military-grade encryption” is marketing bullshit for a 23-year-old free standard
  • Most review sites are owned by the VPN companies they’re supposedly reviewing

Major VPN Companies With Documented Issues

These popular VPNs have consistent patterns of problems:

The Kape Technologies Empire (Ex-Malware Distributors)

The NordSec Monopoly (Reformed But Still Monopolistic)

The Ziff Davis Data Miners

How I Rank VPNs (My Standards)

I rank VPNs by actual privacy, not marketing claims or commission rates:

I rank Mullvad #1 despite $0 commission because:

  • Open source (you can verify their claims)
  • Proven no-logs via police raid - they found nothing
  • Accepts cash for true anonymity
  • No account required (just account number)
  • If I were purely mercenary, I’d hide Mullvad and push $135 CyberGhost commissions

I rank Proton VPN #2 despite lower commission because:

  • Swiss privacy laws actually mean something (vs BVI/Panama marketing)
  • Free tier available (legitimately free, not trial bait)
  • From ProtonMail team with proven track record
  • Transparent operations and regular audits
  • I make ~$25/sale, but ExpressVPN offers $95/sale (I reject it)

My ranking criteria:

  1. Verified no-logs policy (not just marketing claims)
  2. Trustworthy jurisdiction and ownership
  3. Open source and audited code where possible
  4. Actual privacy features (not marketing theater)
  5. Honest pricing (no lifetime scam deals)

I’m transparent about bias, but I rank by privacy instead of commission.

Better Alternatives Worth Considering

Mullvad - €5/month

  • Privacy: Actually anonymous - accepts cash, no email required
  • Verification: Proven no-logs via police raid
  • Technology: Open source, WireGuard support
  • Pricing: €5/month flat (no renewals, prepay what you use)
  • Commission: $0/sale (no affiliate program)
Mullvad logo Try Mullvad VPN (Most Private VPN)

Proton VPN - Free/$4.99/month

  • Privacy: Swiss privacy laws that actually matter
  • Free tier: Actually free (not trial bait), 3 countries, unlimited data
  • Technology: Secure Core, Tor over VPN, NetShield
  • Pricing: Free tier or $4.99/month (no price jumps)
  • Commission: ~$25/sale
ProtonVPN logo Try Proton VPN (Free Tier Available)

NordVPN - $5.99/month

  • Privacy: Panama jurisdiction (mostly marketing), closed-source apps, 2018 breach hidden for 18+ months
  • Free tier: None (7-day trial on Android only)
  • Technology: NordLynx (WireGuard-based), Meshnet, Threat Protection Pro, Double VPN, Onion over VPN
  • Pricing: $3.09/mo intro (2-year), renews at $12.99/mo (~319% increase)
  • Commission: ~$60/sale
NordVPN logo Try NordVPN (Good for Netflix)

🔥 Industry Exposés: Deceptions & Dark History

ExpressVPN’s Malware Origins

Before ExpressVPN sold privacy, Kape Technologies (their parent company) distributed malware. CrossRider, the adware installer that became Kape, was banned from ad networks for malicious behavior. Now they own ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, PIA, and ZenMate.

Why it matters: Companies with histories of exploiting users don’t magically become privacy champions overnight.

NordVPN Breach: Hidden for 18 Months

In 2018, NordVPN was breached. They hid it for 18+ months before disclosure. To their credit, they’ve since implemented RAM-only servers, regular audits, and improved transparency. But the cover-up reveals a lot about “trust us” promises.

VPN Monopoly Map: Who Owns Who

Kape Technologies owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, PIA, and ZenMate. NordSec owns NordVPN, Surfshark, and Atlas VPN. Ziff Davis owns IPVanish, StrongVPN, and SaferVPN. When “competitors” compare themselves, they’re owned by the same company.

Fake competition = no incentive to actually protect your privacy.

PCMag’s VPN Conflict of Interest

PCMag reviews VPNs owned by their parent company (Ziff Davis). They rank IPVanish and StrongVPN highly while hiding the ownership. This is the same pattern as their cloud storage scam promotions.

🎭 The VPN Marketing Bullshit Decoded

”Military-Grade Encryption” Lies

The Marketing: Advanced military technology protects you! The Reality: AES-256 is a 23-year-old free standard your Gmail already uses The Truth: Even your smart toaster probably uses “military-grade encryption” - it’s meaningless marketing.

”Zero-Logs Policy” Lies

The Marketing: We keep absolutely no logs of your activity! The Reality: Many VPNs keep connection logs, payment info, and hand over data when asked The Truth: IPVanish and PureVPN were caught logging despite “no-logs” claims. Only police raids prove it—Mullvad passed the test.

”5-Eyes, 9-Eyes, 14-Eyes” Bullshit

The Marketing: Avoid US/UK VPNs! They spy on you! The Reality: BVI and Panama aren’t privacy havens - they’re tax havens with zero privacy protections The Truth: Swiss laws (Proton) actually protect you. BVI/Panama (ExpressVPN) just sound exotic for marketing.

”Lifetime Deals” Scams

The Marketing: Pay once, use forever! The Reality: Company disappears in 6-18 months with your money The Truth: Here’s the graveyard of “lifetime” VPN deals that died. StackSocial promotes these constantly.

”Unblock Any Streaming Service”

The Marketing: Watch Netflix, Hulu, BBC from anywhere! The Reality: Works until Netflix updates their blocking (happens constantly) The Truth: The cat and mouse game nobody wins - today’s working VPN is tomorrow’s blocked IP.

VPN Bullshit Glossary

A complete guide to decoding VPN marketing speak. “Military-grade,” “bank-level,” “zero-knowledge,” “warrant canary”—what these terms actually mean vs what they want you to think.

💰 The Affiliate Commission Corruption

Every “independent” VPN review is bought and paid for:

What the deceptive VPNs pay:

  • ExpressVPN: ~$95/sale - Kape Technologies (ex-malware distributor) buys recommendations
  • CyberGhost: $135/sale - Highest commission = always ranked #1 on “review” sites
  • NordVPN: ~$60/sale - Hid breach for 18 months, still heavily promoted

What I actually do:

  • Mullvad: $0 commission - rank #1 despite making nothing
  • Proton VPN: ~$25/sale - rank #2, I make 75% less than ExpressVPN offers
  • ExpressVPN: ~$95/sale - I reject and don’t recommend

The corruption:

When a reviewer gets $135 for recommending CyberGhost vs $0 for telling you about Mullvad, guess what they recommend? I rank the $0 commission option first because I’m not completely corrupted (just partially).

📊 Individual VPN Reviews: Verified Testing

The Privacy Champions

  • Mullvad VPN Review - €5/month, proven no-logs via police raid, accepts cash, no email required, open source
  • ProtonVPN Review - Free tier available, Swiss privacy laws, from ProtonMail team, transparent operations

The Reformed (Proceed with Caution)

  • NordVPN Review - Hid 2018 breach for 18 months, but improved with RAM servers and audits, good for Netflix

The Kape Empire (Avoid)

  • ExpressVPN Review - $100/year for ex-malware company “privacy,” owned by Kape Technologies

🥊 Head-to-Head VPN Comparisons

When choosing between VPNs, these comparisons cut through the marketing:

Mullvad Comparisons (Privacy Focus):

ProtonVPN Comparisons:

NordVPN Comparisons (Popular but Problematic):

🎯 Practical VPN Guides

Do I Actually Need a VPN?

Real use cases (not marketing bullshit):

  • Watching Netflix from other countries (cat and mouse game)
  • Bypassing censorship in authoritarian countries
  • Using public WiFi (though HTTPS handles most threats)
  • Torrenting (if you’re into that)

Bullshit use cases the industry invented:

  • “Protecting” you from your ISP (they’re already regulated by law)
  • “Preventing” government surveillance (they’ll just ask the VPN for logs)
  • “Securing” your banking (already encrypted with HTTPS)
  • “Anonymous” browsing (your browser fingerprint betrays you anyway)

The truth: Most people don’t need a VPN for daily browsing. HTTPS already encrypts your traffic. VPNs are useful for specific use cases, not general “privacy.”

How to Cancel Your Shit VPN

Step-by-step guide to getting your money back from overpriced VPN subscriptions and switching to legitimate alternatives. Includes refund tricks and cancellation best practices.

Netflix vs VPNs: The Endless Cat and Mouse Game

VPNs that work today get blocked tomorrow. Netflix actively fights VPN usage. Here’s the reality of trying to watch content from other countries.

🔐 Related Security Tools

Antivirus Guides

📈 Industry Statistics

How Many People Use a VPN?

VPN adoption statistics, usage trends, and what the data reveals about why people actually use VPNs (spoiler: mostly for streaming, not privacy).

💡 The Bottom Line

Stop paying $100/year for privacy theater.

Here’s what you should actually do:

For Maximum Privacy

Read Mullvad Review - €5/month, accepts cash, proven no-logs via police raid. I make $0 from recommending them.

For Free VPN With Good Privacy

Read Proton VPN Review - Free tier available, Swiss laws, from ProtonMail team. I make ~$25/sale but rank by privacy not commission.

To Escape Your Current VPN

Read Cancellation Guide - How to get your money back and switch to something legitimate.

Legal Note: This article contains both documented facts (linked to sources) and my personal opinions based on those facts. All opinions are clearly marked as such.

Ready to dive deeper? Browse our complete exposés below to see exactly how each VPN company operates.

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